Friendship Forged in Crisis
by Lysmata
Summary: Kate Kane was feeling overwhelmed. Armed thugs were more of her style. Not an entity with grand powers and the ability to wipe out a multiverse. No, she was outmatched in this battle. Lucky for her, she has a Paragon of Hope to mentor her.


**Taking a quick detour from my current in-progress fic to give you my take on Kate and Kara's friendship during their time spent together as the Crisis was occurring. None of these characters are mine, but hopefully I captured their essence. Quick thank you to a wonderful friend who suggested the idea. Enjoy!**

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The muted thump of armored gauntlets and combat boots on metal had been drilled into Kate's ears as she traversed her makeshift obstacle course set up in a dark, secluded part of the Vanishing Point. She had no idea how long she had been running the course. With no more multiverse and no living persons alive other than the rest of the Paragons trapped in the point outside of time and space, there was simply no need to know the time. All that mattered was pushing her body to the limit in the event that Lex Luthor and Ryan Choi managed to work out some escape from their sanctuary. An event that had eluded the pair for some period of time.

Time. The word gave her pause and created a crack in her concentration as she hurdled a metal panel erected vertically. One boot caught the edge of the panel and she tumbled to the hard floor. Her muscles screamed at her as she pushed herself up, grunting from the effort, and launched into a flurry of strikes aimed at the vital points of imagined targets. In her mind's eye, they were thugs of the Wonderland gang from back home and they dropped soundlessly as she targeted their knees, necks, and torsos. The final one carried a baseball bat and he swung it at her just as she was turning towards him, having finished off the previous two. She dropped to the ground, keeping herself up with one arm as she swept her legs around into his, buckling his knees as he crashed to the ground ungracefully.

As she stood up, some danger sense in the back of her mind tingled. It was a sense honed by years of training, both in the military and by mentors during her travels around the world, as well as her recent exploits patrolling the nights in the dangerous alleyways of Gotham City. It was a sense that told her the baseball-wielding thug was not the last of her enemies. With a growl, she spun and whipped around an arm, aiming for the side of the head.

Her armored gauntlet was deflected away from her target, though, and she readjusted to slam a fist into the new threat's torso when suddenly someone called her name, her real name.

"Kara!" Kate exclaimed, halting her fist only inches away from the side of Supergirl's torso. The blonde gave her a small smile, one arm still raised from having to deflect the first blow. Grimacing slightly, Kate raised herself up from her fighting stance, clenching and unclenching her fists as she tried to shake the soreness from her limbs. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come in."

The blonde superhero gave a knowing nod. "I know what you mean," Kara replied. "Sometimes once you get in that mindset, it's just like tunnel vision." She shook the arm she had used to block. "You pack quite the punch, though."

Kate gave a bark of laughter. "Says the Girl of Steel," she replied with a smile. Already, she could feel a bruise forming where she had connected the blow. Had the blonde decided to block fully rather than deflecting her attack, she was sure the damage would have been much more than a bruise. _Might be a mistake to spar with her in the future_. "So what brings you all the way over here?" The last time she had seen Kara, she had been mourning Superman and she didn't want to mention it now. Not when this was the first time she had seen Kara smiling since they had found themselves at the Vanishing Point.

With a shrug, Kara moved to sit on a makeshift bench. "Just wanted to check in on how you were doing," she said, looking Kate over. "The others said you were working yourself to the bone."

The Bat of the Future nodded, moving to sit next to Kara, groaning in relief as she gave her protesting body a much-needed rest. "I guess I do need a break every now and then," she admitted wearily, tugging her cowl off and setting it to the side. "I just...I needed something to keep my mind off things. I do better taking action, not worrying about when to take action."

"I know that feeling too," Kara said gently. "But this is another level. You're driving yourself to the point of injury, and that's not going to help us or you." Kate glanced at the blonde and they locked eyes for a moment before she closed her eyes, nodding in silent agreement. "I've been where you are," the blonde continued, "and sometimes it just helps to talk it out with someone."

Kate took a moment to collect her thoughts before she opened her eyes, staring straight ahead and off into the distance. "I guess part of it stems from feeling useless," she mused. "You and Barry have been heroes for so long. You've got these super powers. We're battling some magical being that has literally wiped out a multiverse of heroes…"

"And you're just a woman in a suit with sharp thingies?" Kara had shifted to face more towards her. "Which, by the way, are pretty awesome," she continued with a hint of humor and appreciation.

It was infectious and Kate found herself chuckling as she reached into her belt to pull out one of the 'sharp thingies' to hand to Kara. "It's a Batarang. They're quite useful. Careful, they're-"

"Sharp?" The blonde giggled as she took it, examining its masterful manufacturing.

Kate gave a small smile, glancing at the Kryptonian. "Sorry," she said, chuckling. "Forgot you're indestructible." She turned her attention back to the darkness beyond, leaning back. "Yeah, I suppose I feel a little out of place."

Kara's hand on her shoulder made her turn her attention back to the blonde. "Everyone's got their part to play in this," she said firmly. "Remember you stopped me from using The Book of Destiny to bring back all the Earths? Paragon of Courage, remember?" The blonde's voice quivered a little at the mention of the other Earths and Kate could see the beginnings of tears welling up in Kara's eyes as she continued.

"Maybe it would have worked," Kate began, but Kara shook her head instantly, cutting her off.

"No, you were right," she said. "That wasn't the way we would get the Earths back. It just wasn't the way to do it. Everyone has their part to play in this." She gave a small smile, eyes sparkling from unfallen tears, and Kate couldn't help but marvel at the hope the Kryptonian still showed.

"Even Lex Luthor?"

At the mention of his name, Kara grimaced. "I suppose even he has a part to play in this," she muttered as she turned away to look off into the darkness with Kate, "Probably a future betrayal if you ask me." The two shared a short laugh at the thought and settled into a quiet, but companionable silence.

Kara's hand was still on Kate's shoulder and it brought a comfort that filled a void she never even knew was there. She hadn't made many friends since her return to Gotham, and even Luke wasn't as close with her yet. Something about Kara just felt...right.

"Hey Kate?" Kara's voice gently cut through the silence. "We never really got a chance before, having to save the multiverse and all, but...tell me about home. For when we get everything we lost back."

Home. The word brought up all sorts of emotions in Kate. Her complicated love for Sophie. Her budding friendship with Luke. The mess that was her deranged twin sister, Beth. She took a deep breath. "You've seen Gotham," she started, "and all the darkness there." She glanced at Kara, whose attention was firmly focused on her, so she continued. "My sister, Beth, just can't seem to shake the evil she grew up in. I don't even know if she still is my sister. Not after she killed my stepmom, drove my stepsister away from me, and framed our dad to put him in jail. There's times I see Beth in her, but there's other times all I see is a monster. Like Beth's love for me gets mangled into terrible actions. I wanted to redeem her but now..."

"You need a little hope," Kara finished for her, giving a knowing smile. "I'm not the Paragon of Hope for nothing, am I?" Kate smiled back and motioned for her to continue. "I know it might be hard to have hope, especially after everything your sister has done. But if she's doing all this out of some sense of love for you, maybe one day the love will win over everything else." She leaned over and before Kate knew it, she was engulfed in a hug by the Kryptonian. It took a few moments before she hugged Kara in return and as she did, she felt herself relaxing in the surprisingly gentle arms of Supergirl.

They stayed in the embrace for a few more moments before parting with shared smiles. "I think I needed that," Kate said, a little sheepishly.

Kara beamed at her. "Everybody could use a hug sometimes...even a dark, brooding bat," she teased her fellow hero and drawing a small laugh from Kate. "Besides your sister, there's got to be other things in your life in Gotham. Parties? Maybe someone special?"

"No one special," Kate replied, rolling her eyes. "I've got Luke though." At Kara's questioning glance, she continued. "The guy we met at my cousin's home on that alternate Earth?"

"The one with the six-pack?" Kara asked, eyes widening. "The cute one?"

Kate shuddered. "That's still so weird. Please don't do that again," she said as the blonde laughed. "He's...not like that on my Earth. He's a little awkward, but he's the guy in my ear and I couldn't do what I do without him." She eyed Kara, who was still trying to stop laughing. "And as far as I know, he doesn't have that six-pack either."

The Kryptonian successfully brought herself under control, nodding and smiling. "At least you have a friend who you can trust," she replied sincerely, the corners of her lips still upturned in a smile. Kate was grateful that she didn't try and push further, and she wondered for a second if Kara knew about her love life. She was about to comment when Sara Lance suddenly poked her head around the corner.

"Sorry to interrupt if something's going on here, but it seems like Ryan and Lex have figured something out," the former assassin said, looking between the two heroes. "Thought you might want to check it out." She disappeared around the corner, her footsteps already echoing down the hall.

Kara stood up, handing Kate back the Batarang. "I'm glad we could have this talk, Kate," she said with a smile. "And if you ever need a sympathetic listener…"

Kate nodded. "I know there's a Paragon of Hope ready to bolster my spirits," she finished as she slipped the Batarang back into her belt. "Thanks Kara." They shared a smile before heading to join Sara to see what Ryan and Lex had figured out.

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**At least one more chapter to follow... Comments, questions, concerns? Leave it in the reviews! :)**


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